Steve K. – introducing myself

Hey all~

I am really impressed with this site, its mission and the level of activity/viewership!!

I am very happy to have found this resource to educate myself about the pros and cons of running after a Total Hip Replacement, having had one in December, 2011, at age 50.  My surgeon was pretty adamant that I should never consider running, or even jogging, as part of a cardio-fitness regimen, because it would shorten the life of the hardware, requiring replacement, or “revision”, as I have heard it called.

I had run for most of my life, sometimes five/six days a week, sometimes only a couple, but I have also been cycling, playing tennis, or inline skating.  Now, I just bike a few days a week, tennis a couple and walk my MinPin 75 mins a day.  I run short dashes with my dog, Eddy, because he loves running, but has no interest in playing with other dogs or chasing a ball.

Running for 30 yd. bursts feels great, and I never have any pain in my hip when playing tennis with my partner, Beth.  Prior to surgery in 2010-2011, she would occasionally have to traction my leg, on the court, because of the bone-on-bone pain I had to deal with.

I would love to be able to run again, for weight control and general psychological well-being.  I will read the Hiprunner reports, and start out slow, on grass (mostly) and short-distances…maybe 1/4 mile, walk, 1/4 mile, walk…or something like that.  I would appreciate input about that “running will shorten hardware lifespan” thing I mentioned.

Almost forgot to mention, but 3 months post-surgery, just a few days before the target date the doc gave me for riding on the road, I went for a spin around my neighborhood and had no problems.  Two days later, I was going to ride to my “gym”, and in getting on the bike and throwing my right leg over the seat, I had a wardrobe malfunction, probably because I had limited mobility on that side (the THR was on the right).  Short story, long…slow-mo wipe-out … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)